Cold Winter's Light
by jdmusiclover
Summary: CS future fic: CS and the Charmings celebrate the traditional Enchanted Forest holiday, Winter's Light during one of the worst blizzards Storybrooke has ever seen. During the festivities, a visitor they were not expecting shows up.


_Today's story is my CSSS gift for treluna2. It's a future fic about CS and the Charmings celebrating the traditional Enchanted Forest holiday Winter's Night. A visitor they were not expecting shows up during one of the worst blizzards Storybrooke had ever seen. Happy Holidays!_

 ** _Rating:_** _K+_

 _December, 2028_

"Have I ever told you the story of your birth, Ava mine?" Killian asked as he sat beside his daughter's bed on the night before her tenth birthday.

"Daddy!" Ava laughed joyously. "You tell me that story _every_ year on my birthday."

"Ah, well you must indulge an old man his sentimentality, little love," Killian said, the wrinkles beside his eyes crinkling merrily as he smiled adoringly down at the little blonde. "It was, after all one of the best—and the most terrifying nights of my life."

"Ok daddy," Ava conceded, "you can tell the story again."

"Settle in," Killian said, tucking the covers securely around his little girl, "and prepare yourself for a thrilling tale. You were born in the midst of the worst blizzard Storybrooke has ever seen…"

Emma leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, smiling indulgently at her little family. Killian certainly knew how to tell a good story. He also had a flare for dramatics…and a tendency to turn any story into something of a tall tale. Every time he told the story of their daughter's birth the blizzard got worse, the snow got higher, the winter wind got colder, the danger became greater, his heroics became more daring. At this rate, by the time Ava was 30, that particular Winter's Light would be remembered as a life and death experience for everyone present.

Emma remembered it a little differently, although even the true story was something of a thrilling tale.

~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~

 _December 2018_

Emma collapsed on the sofa, wondering idly if she'd ever be able to get up again. She felt roughly the size of a beached whale, and getting up from a soft, comfortable couch without help was quite the feat.

She felt a feisty kick, and rubbed her extended belly with a smile. "I'm so not going to miss you kicking the crap out of me all day every day, kid."

"The little lass giving you trouble today, Swan?" Killian asked, sitting on the other side of the sofa and massaging her aching feet.

"Not more than usual," Emma said, "although I've been feeling more of those 'practice' contractions today than I have in the past. It's just that she never stops moving. And I'm tired. And my back aches. And I'm as big as a house. And I'm just soooooo _over_ this whole pregnancy thing."

Killian leaned over and kissed her gently. "It won't be long now, love. Your strength and resilience throughout all these months of being with child never ceases to astound me, and I assure you I've never found you more beautiful or desirable."

She shot him a skeptical look.

"Perhaps you'd fancy a proof of just how much I want you still," he said with a wicked raise of one eyebrow.

She laughed. "Tempting, but you know we have to be over at my parents' farm in twenty minutes for their Winter's Light party."

A couple years after they'd defeated the Black Fairy and restored peace to Storybrooke, Snow had suggested, as part of the town's "living our happy beginning" initiative, that the residents of Storybrooke return to some of their old Enchanted Forest traditions. The biggest and most beloved, apparently was the holiday called Winter's Light, which occurred on December 22.

"You see," Snow explained to Emma, "the winter solstice is on the 21st. It's the shortest day of the year, so the 22nd starts the return of the light."

"So…you have a whole holiday dedicated to it?" Emma asked.

"Yeah," Snow said, "and it's the best day of the year!"

"So what exactly does one do on Winters Light. What kind of traditions make it the best day ever?"

Killian smiled, excited as a child. "There's a candle lighting ceremony, where all the candles in the house are illuminated (perhaps the custom could be modernized here in the Land Without Magic to include the electric lights you are so fond of). The youngest child in the household lights the first candle, and then everyone sings carols of the light."

"And there are the gifts of light, of course," David said. "In the evening, family and friends gather together and give each other gifts to thank them for the light they bring into their lives."

"It really is a heartwarming tradition," Snow concluded. "So what do you say, Emma? Do you think we should revive Winter's Light?"

"Sounds like a great idea to me!"

And it was. In the years since the tradition had been restored, Winter's Light slowly became Emma's favorite holiday, the day of the year she looked forward to every year.

"I suppose you're right, love," Killian said, getting to his feet and offering a hand to his wife. "Your mother would not thank us for keeping them waiting."

"No she wouldn't!" Emma laughed. "Besides, I think there's snow in the forecast for tonight. I'd rather get to the farm before that gets all ramped up."

It was a bit of a smaller gathering for Winter's Light this year than in times past. Ever since Anton's magic bean farm business got off the ground, a lot of the town opted to go back to the Enchanted Forest for Winter's Light. Emma and Killian arrived at the Nolan farm just as the first snowflakes began to fly, and were enthusiastically welcomed by Emma's parents and little brother, Granny, Leroy and Archie.

"Where are the rest of your dwarf brothers?" Emma asked after receiving a cup of Winter's Light punch from her mother.

Leroy rolled his eyes. "Had a bit of a falling out this morning," he said. "Seems the others decided I was too 'grumpy' to spend the holiday with. Decided to go back to the Enchanted Forest and leave me here."

"Whatever would give them that notion?" Killian asked in mock surprise.

"Watch it, pirate! I've got my eyes on you!"

"I'm positively quaking in my boots," Killian assured.

Emma laughed, playfully shoving Killian in the opposite direction. "You keep antagonizing him, there may be bloodshed. The look in his eyes…ooh."

Emma clutched at her belly.

"Swan! Are you well, love?" Killian asked, moving her gently to the sofa.

She waved him off, breathing deeply. "It's fine, babe. Don't worry about it. Just a little contraction."

"Shall I call Whale?" he asked. "You've been getting your pains more and more frequently all day."

"No, no, don't bother him," Emma said. "It's passing now. Besides, I'm not due for another week. If I take it easy, I should be fine."

Killian looked at her skeptically for another moment, before nodding, still looking as though he was not entirely convinced of her statements.

The festivities were well under way when the small group got their first inklings that they might be in trouble. Not only had the snow picked up, but so had the wind. Emma glanced out the window to see nothing but unrelenting white. "Wow, it's really coming down out there," she said. "I can't see two feet past your porchlight, Dad. You think one of us should go on patrol to make sure everyone's weathering the storm alright?"

"Well if one of us does, it's not going to be you, honey," David said, giving her a concerned look. "You're in no condition to work this close to your due date. Killian told me you've been having contractions all day. Maybe instead of patrolling the town, we ought to try to get you to the hospital."

"Killian is an over-protective mother hen," Emma said. "He'd have wrapped me in bubble wrap and confined me to bed for the entire pregnancy if he could have. I'm _fine_ Dad. There's nothing to be concerned ab….ooof!"

This time the contraction hit her so hard and fast she doubled over, panting. She hadn't remembered pre-labor pains being quite this intense when she had Henry. Maybe…maybe her husband and her dad had a point.

"Emma!" David shouted, grabbing her arm to keep her upright just as Emma felt a gush of water flow from her. Okay, they _definitely_ had a point. If her freaking _water_ had just broken it was time to get to the hospital. ASAP.

David settled Emma onto the couch, propping up her feet, and then went off in search of Killian. There was suddenly a whirlwind of activity in the old farm house, as everyone prepared to move the party to the hospital waiting room.

Granny packed away the food and put it in the refrigerator. Snow grabbed Emma's spare over-night bag that she'd packed for the hospital. (Emma had been prepared for any eventuality, packing an overnight back at home and another at her parents'). David and Killian rushed outside to scrape off the truck and get it ready for maternity transport. Archie sat with Emma, coaching her through breathing exercises. And Leroy ran through the house shouting "The baby! She's COMING!"

"Hey, can you grab my phone?" Emma asked Archie, panting through the pain of another contraction. "Need to give Whale the heads up."

Archie complied, but when Emma turned the phone on…nothing happened.

"Must be the storm," Granny said. "Must have knocked out cell service. I guess we're just lucky that the electricity hasn't gone out yet."

The room was suddenly plunged into darkness.

Leroy glared at Granny. "You just had to open your big mouth, didn't you?"

"Don't panic!" Snow said, making her way into the living room, an arm full of candles and matches in tow. "It's Winter's Light, remember! I've got enough candles to light up this house like the fourth of July."

"Doesn't matter anyway," Emma panted, clutching her middle. "We'll be off to the hospital any minute anyway."

Emma heard the front door open, and then her dad and her husband trudged in looking sober. "I don't think any of us are going anywhere tonight," David said, as Killian began pacing. "We've got a full-blown blizzard going on out there. Killian and I nearly got lost just going from the front door to the truck. We try to make our way to town, we just get stranded and risk freezing to death."

Emma felt a weight in the pit of her stomach that had nothing to do with the contractions that were suddenly coming faster and with more intensity. "Are you telling me I'm going to have to have this baby _here_? Without a doctor? Or an epidural?"

Killian got to his knees beside the couch and took her hand, looking reassuringly into her eyes. "Swan, I know this isn't ideal. I know this isn't how we hoped this birth would take place, but you can do this! We, all of us, will help you."

Another contraction ripped through her, and she had to bite her lip to keep from yelling out. Still, Killian's hand was warm and solid in hers. Her mother was bustling around, preparing a bed in the spare room to be used as the birthing chamber, and Archie was heading to the kitchen, stating his intention to start boiling water.

"Why the hell would we need boiled water?" Granny asked, rolling up her sleeves and preparing to wade into the fray, as it were.

"I don't know," Archie said, "but it's what people always do in movies when someone goes into labor and they're not near a hospital."

It was crazy and chaotic, but somehow Emma found it all comforting, even in the midst of her pain and fear.

"Perhaps we'd best hail Whale on the talking phone?" Killian suggested.

David shook his head. "'Fraid that won't help us at this point. If we can't get out, Whale won't be able to get in."

"Besides," Granny said, helping Emma to her feet and into the spare room, "it's Winter's Light. I guarantee you Whale's drunk off his ass. He wouldn't be any help to us tonight even if it was a balmy seventy-five degrees."

"So who exactly is going to deliver my baby?" Emma asked, hearing a touch of hysteria in her own voice.

"Well, I've never done it before," Grumpy said, "but I've been around when Doc did it. I could get up in there and see what's going on if you need me."

Killian glared. "You, dwarf will keep your bloody mitts away from my wife's nether regions."

"Well maybe if you'd done the same we wouldn't be in this situation right now, would we?" Leroy shot back.

"What I do with my wife within the confines of our bedroom is _our_ business, and I will not discuss it…"

"Alright guys, enough," Granny said, slashing the air. "Look, I'm a diner owner, not a midwife, but I've assisted a delivery or two. I've got this covered. Now everyone clear out. Snow and I will help Emma into something more comfortable, and if we need you, we'll let you know."

And thus began the longest and most painful night of Emma's life. The pains followed one on top of another, washing over her in waves of agony. "How the hell did you do this without any pain meds when I was born, mom?"

Snow smoothed a cold cloth over her forehead, crooning soothingly to her. "It wasn't easy, but I promise you, you'll get through this. It'll all be over soon, and then you'll have your brand new baby girl in your arms. Focus on that. It'll make the pain a bit more manageable."

Finally, as the first rays of the sun began to rise, Emma heard the most beautiful words Granny had ever uttered. "I see the head! Won't be long now. Just a few more good pushes!"

Good thing too. Emma didn't think she'd ever been so exhausted. "Mom, could you get Killian. He'll want to be here for his daughter's birth."

"Of course, honey," Snow said, smoothing Emma's sweaty hair from her forehead and kissing her gently. "We'll be back in just a moment."

Killian had, of course, been by Emma's side from the first, coaching her, encouraging her, enduring the way she crushed his hand as her contractions hit, apologizing profusely for the pain he was causing her.

"Would you just stop," Emma finally said after around the fifteenth agonized apology. "We both wanted this baby, and we were both there when she was conceived. You aren't hurting me any more than I'm hurting myself."

Finally, sometime around three in the morning, Snow had prevailed upon Killian to go get some sleep. "You'll be needed when the baby's born, Killian. I promise I'll find you if anything changes, but for right now there's nothing more you can do."

Emma breathed through one more contraction as Killian burst through the door, taking his seat at her bedside. "Swan! Your mother says it's nearly time."

"Yeah," Emma said, as she felt another contraction ramp up. "I don't know if I can do this, Killian. I'm so tired and it hurts so damn much and it just _won't stop_."

"Listen to me darling," Killian said, looking deeply into her eyes. "You can do this! You're nearly there, love, and you've endured the night beautifully. You're bloody brilliant, amazing Swan, and there's nothing you cannot do. Just a few more pushes."

"Hold me," Emma bit out as Granny instructed her to push.

Killian dutifully sat behind her, holding her in his arms, whispering encouragement and praise. Despite the pain and exhaustion, Emma felt herself relax and focus. Killian seemed to be pouring his own strength into her, giving her exactly what she needed.

He always knew how to give her exactly what she needed. From the first day they'd met. He was her strength, her anchor, her true love and her joy. Emma felt the tears gather in her eyes, overwhelmed with the emotion of the moment. She was about to give birth to a baby who was so very wanted, so very loved, and she was going through the whole process with her husband and her parents at her side. It was something the lost girl had never before thought she'd have.

Finally, with one last push, Ava made her way into the world. As soon as her airways had been cleared, she let out a strong, outraged cry, as though displeased to suddenly find herself in this bright, cold, open world. Emma smiled in wonder as the lights flickered and then came back on just as Ava finished her cry.

"Swan," Killian said in wonder, "it would appear our daughter, the product of our true love, has magic just as strong as her mum's."

Emma chuckled tiredly. "Seems that way, babe."

After a moment of waiting, Emma collapsed back against Killian as Granny finished bathing the baby and wrapped her securely in a blanket.

"Well," Emma asked. "Is she okay, Granny?"

Granny turned around and passed the tiny pink bundle into her mother's waiting arms. "She's more than okay," Granny said, the emotion evident in her voice. "She's perfect. Absolutely perfect. Congratulations mom and dad!"

Half an hour later, after Emma and the room had been set to rights and Emma had been tucked comfortably into the spare room bed, she lay within the circle of Killian's arms, tiny Ava Alice held in her arms.

"Are you happy, Killian?" she asked, smiling up at him.

He reached down and ran one tiny finger gently across little Ava's silky cheek. A single tear made its way down his face. "Swan, happy doesn't even approach it, nor overjoyed, nor ecstatic. Look at the miracle we produced between us. She's perfect, a tiny wonder, already the light of my life. Thank you for the best Winter's Light gift any man could ever be given."

Careful not to disturb her daughter's slumber, Emma leaned up and kissed him gently. "Thank you for giving her to me. Killian we're a family now! The only thing that could have made this moment better is if Henry could be here with us."

"And he will be again, Swan," Killian assured. "One day he'll find his own happy ending and return. We're a family after all, and we always, always will be."


End file.
